Forest Rights Act: FRC welcomes govt move to make tribal deptt as nodal agency

sameer
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15 Dec 2025

Srinagar, Dec 14: The Forest Rights Coalition (FRC) Jammu and Kashmir has welcomed the Jammu and Kashmir government’s historic decision to implement the Forest Rights Act, 2006 by removing the Forest Department as the nodal agency and appointing the Tribal Welfare Department as the nodal authority.

In a statement issued here, FRC said the government has taken a long overdue step to correct a structural injustice. “This decision opens a new chapter of hope for forest dependent, pastoral and indigenous communities across the Union Territory,” it reads.

“FRC J&K places on record its sincere gratitude to the Hon’ble Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, the Hon’ble Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, and the Hon’ble Minister for Forests and Environment Javaid Rana for showing political will, administrative clarity and moral responsibility in addressing a long pending demand of forest communities. This collective leadership has taken a decisive step towards restoring constitutional justice and democratic governance in the forest landscapes of Jammu and Kashmir”

It further said that since the extension of the Forest Rights Act to Jammu and Kashmir, the FRC has consistently maintained that assigning the forest department, often the accusing authority in cases of eviction and criminalization, to implement a welfare and rights-based law was fundamentally flawed. Jammu and Kashmir remained the only Union Territory in India where this contradiction continued. The present decision finally brings J&K in line with the national framework, where Tribal Welfare Departments serve as nodal agencies, reflecting the true spirit of the Act,” the statement reads.

Welcoming the decision, Dr Sheikh Ghulam Rasool, renowned climate justice activist and founder of FRC J&K, said, “For forest dependent communities, this decision feels like a long-delayed breath of relief. It is not merely a transfer of files from one department to another. It is the restoration of dignity to people who have protected these forests for generations. Himalayan pastoralists and indigenous communities have lived under constant fear, treated as outsiders in their own homes. Today, the UT Government, the Lieutenant Governor, the Chief Minister and the MoEF Minister have together rekindled hope and reaffirmed constitutional justic